Fisherman{40 s knot tying device

ABSTRACT

A hard plastic cylinder 5/8 inch in diameter and 3/4 inch long is freely rotatably mounted in a semi-cylindrical recess provided centrally in the upper surface of a 2 X 4 X 1/16 inch rigid sheet plastic carriage. Line anchoring notches are provided in the carriage ends and sides and a loop receiving slot is formed axially in the recess bottom with circumferential loop anchoring recesses at its ends. The cylinder has two line twisting slots extending lengthwise thereof, and a central diametral loop receiving hole capable of alignment with said loop receiving slot in the carriage. Diametral line guide grooves are provided in the cylinder ends. The carriage recess has central conical free spaces at its ends whereby lines being tied into a knot may be rotated with the cylinder in order to twist two strands of a line together.

United States Patent Bauer 5] Oct. 24, 1972 154] FISHERMAN 'S KNOT TYINGDEVICE [72] Inventor: George J. Bauer, 3498 Duffy Street,

San Bemardino, Calif. 92405 [22] Filed: April 8, 1971- [21] Appl. No.:132,318

[52] US. Cl. ..289/17 [51] Int. CI.......- ..D03j 3/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..289/17 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,502,7514/1950 Roberts ..289/17 2,773,713 12/1956 Smalley ..289/17 3,572,7883/1971 Cruzan ..289/17 Primary Examiner-Louis K. Rimrodt Attorney-DanaE. Keech [57] ABSTRACT A hard plastic cylinder inch in diameter and "54inch long is freely rotatably mounted in a semi-cylindrical recessprovided centrally in the upper surface of a 2 X 4 X 1/16 inch rigidsheet plastic carriage. Line anchoring notches are provided in thecarriage ends and sides and a loop receiving slot is formed axially inthe recess bottom with circumferential loop anchoring recesses at itsends.

The cylinder has two line twisting slots extending lengthwise thereof,and a central diametral loop receiving hole capable of alignment withsaid loop receiving slot in the carriage. Diametral line guide groovesare provided in the cylinder ends. The carriage recess has centralconical free spaces at its ends whereby lines being tied into a knot maybe rotated with the cylinder in order to twist two strands of a linetogether.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Patented Get. 24, 1972 IN VENTQR Q GEORGEBAN/5,

' kZ/VEq FISHERMAN 'S KNOT TYING DEVICE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thepurpose of the present invention is to provide a means for the simpleand rapid tying of four basic knots in monofilament fishing lines.Monofilament line, by nature, is relatively stiff and slippery andrequires that line manufacturers recommendations for knot tying bestrictly observed in order to retain full line strength. The presentinvention permits to the letter observance of these recommendations. Italso reduces finger dexterity requirements to a minimum by providing thenecessary openings, guides and line holding points so that aninexperienced operator may easily and consistently accomplish perfectknots.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of apreferred embodiment of the invention showing the device being used totie a barrel knot.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom plan view taken in the direction of thearrow 3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of the invention illustrating the useofthis in tying a dropper loop knot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring specificallyto the drawings, the device of the invention comprises a carriage 11 anda cylinder 12 rotatably mounted on the carriage. Both of these elementsare preferably molded of hard plastic and snapped together so as toremain firmly united.

The carriage 11 comprises a flat rectangular plate 13 having cordanchoring notches 14 and 15 at one end, 16 and 17 at the opposite end,18 and 19 along one side and 20 and 21 on the opposite side. A boss 25extends downwardly from the plate 13 in a central location thereon and asemi-cylindrical recess 26 extends downwardly from the upper surface ofsaid plate and into said boss as shown in FIG. 2. The recess 26 isenlarged at its ends by semi-conical free spaces 27 formed in the uppersurface of the plate 13. Formed centrally in the bottom of the boss 25is an elongated hole 28 having line anchoring notches 29 extendinglaterally from its opposite ends. Four posts 30 are formed integral withthe plate 13 and extend upwardly opposite the four corners of the recess26 and converge inwardly toward each other over side portions of therecess.

The cylinder 12 is adapted to be admitted by downward pressure betweenthe tips of the four posts 30 whereby the cylinder will snap into placeinto the recess 26 and be trapped in this while being freelyrotatabletherein as shown in FIG. 2. Formed in the OPERATION Theinvention is shown in FIG. 1 in the process of tying a barrel or bloodknot which is the preferred knot for joining two lengths of monofilamentline since it results in a secure and smooth junction which presents nohindrance as the line passes through the pole guides and tip. This knotis formed betweentwo loose ends of two separate pieces of monofilamentline. To tie the knot, lay each of the two lines to be joined which willbedesignated lines A and B across the device through the line twistingslots 33 with the free end of Line A pressed downwardly in the notch 14so as to be anchored therein while the main portion of line A will bepressed downwardly and anchored inthe notch 16 at the opposite end ofthe device 10. The free end of line B, on the other hand, will bepressed down in and anchored in notch 17 and the main body of line Bwill be pressed down and anchored in notch 15 at the opposite end of thedevice 10.

The cylinder 12 is now friction-ally engaged bythe thumb so as to rotatethe cylinder five times which forms two five turn twists in the line atopposite ends of the cylinder 12 as shown in FIG. l, the cylinder beinghalted with slots 33 horizontal. The free end of line B is now removedfrom the slot 17 and threaded horizontally along the adjacent groove 31and through the triangular opening between lines A and B shown at thenear end of the cylinder 12 and then re-anchored in notch 19 at the farside of the carriage. In a like manner, the free end of line A isremoved from notch 14 at the far end of the device, threaded along theadjacent groove 31 and through the triangular opening between the twolines formed at the far end of the cylinder 12 and then re-anchored. innotch 20 at the 7 near side of the device. The cylinder 12 is nowrotated to place grooves 31 vertically and guide slots 33 in verticalupwardly disposed position as shown in FIG. 1. While the free ends oflines B and A remain anchored respectively in notches 19 and 20 the mainportions of said lines are now lifted from engagement with notches 15and 16 and pulled apart to draw the knot tight while simultaneouslylifting the lines from the line guide slots 33 as the turns produced inthe knot by the device 10 gather in response to the tension applied inopposite directions to lines A and B. When the knot has thus been drawntight, the short ends of lines A and B are removed from notches l9 and20 and are clipped close to the knot.

The invention is shown in FIG. 4 as when employed in the formation of adropper loop knot. This knot produces a dropper loop at any desiredpoint on the line to which additional gear may be secured. The loop willremain at the desired size and no appreciable weakness in the line willresult. To use the device of the invention in forming this knot, form aloop C in the line D in which the knot is to be tied and lay the twostrands formed by the separation of loop C from the line in the guideslots 33 of the cylinder 12 with end portions of the two strands thusbrought into parallelism anchored at one end in notches l4 and 15 of thecarriage 11 and at the other end in notches l6 and 17 thereof. Now,holding the lines within the guide slots 33 with the thumb and firstfinger of one hand, rotate the cylinder 12 five turns and stop with theline guide slots 33 in a vertical position. The thumb and finger may beremoved after the first turn of the cylinder 12. Now, pinch the centerof the loop formed in the line and insert the loop in the hole 32 of thecylinder 12. Push the loop through until it exits from the hole 28 ofthe carriage 11. A slight rotation of the cylinder 12 will cause theloop to engage itself in a pair of the dropper loop anchor notches 29.The loop will be held in this position until the knot is completed. FIG.4 illustrates the relation of the line and the cylinder at this point.The next step is to remove the line from the line holding notches 14 and17 and pull outwardly on the portions of the line at opposite ends ofthe knot being formed. As the turns gather to the cylinder 12, lift theline from the line guide slots 33 leaving the loop secured. Slowly andevenly draw the turns up taut. Rotate the cylinder 12 to bring the lineguide slots 33 back to a vertical position and the loop will be releasedfrom the dropper loop anchor slots 29 and may then be withdrawn from thehole 28 and the hole 32 of cylinder 12.

The device may be used in tying many other kinds of fishermans knots andit is unnecessary to illustrate all of these in order to point out theutility of the invention in the typing of fishermans knots. Forinstance, it can be used to tie a clinch knot, the function of which isto tie a hook, lure or other gear to the end of a monofilament line. Todo this, the line is passed through the eye of the gear and placedagainst one end of the cylinder 12. The line itself and the end portionwhich was threaded through said eye are now placed in the two guideslots 33 and anchored in anchor slots 16 and 17 at the near end of thecarriage 11. The cylinder 12 is now rotated five turns and stopped withthe slots 33 in horizontal position. The short end of the line is nowremoved from its line holding notch, looping it to permit threading itthrough the triangular opening between the lines at the end of thecylinder 12. Pass the end of the line back through the large loop justformed and pull together the turns in the knot at the cylinder 12. Thenrotate the cylinder 12 so that the line guide slots 33 are again in avertical position. As the final step, lift the line and gear from thedevice and, holding the gathered turns between the fingers, pull on thestanding part of the line to draw the gathered turns to the gear, drawthe knot up snug and tight and sever the excess line from the short end.

The device of the invention may also be used for forming an end loopknot in the end of a line. To form this knot, double approximately 8inches of the line back on itself into a U shape. Anchor the U in anchornotch 16 at the near end of carriage l1. Treating the double line as asingle strand, lay it in the near guide slot 33 and then bring it backthrough the other slot 33 and anchor the doubled line in anchor notch17. Rotate the cylinder five turns and stop with the line guide slots 33in a horizontal position. Remove the U loop from the line holding notch16 and, guiding it in the near groove 31, pass it through the triangularopening between the lines at the end of the cylinder 12. Now, rotate thecylinder to place the line guide slots 33 in a vertical position. Graspthe U loop between the fingers of one hand and remove the double linefrom line anchoring slot 17. Lift the line from the device and hold theU loop at the size of loop desired. Draw the knot taut b pullin on thedouble line. Clip the short end of the ouble me at the point where 1tleaves the knot.

While the device 10 is shown and described as an independent article ofmanufacture, it may be incorporated with or mounted on a fishing kit boxcover or on the top surface of a container in which fishing line issold, so as to be available for use in knot tying.

I claim:

1. A fisherman s knot tying device comprising:

a line twisting cylinder having line receiving slot means formedlengthwise in the exterior surface thereof;

carriage plate means providing a central semi-cylindrical means forrotatably mounting said cylinder therein while exposing said slot meansto access and leaving free axial spaces at opposite ends of saidcylinder in which strands of said line occupying said slot means may betwisted together when said cylinder is rotated; and

line anchoring means on said carriage means.

2. A fisherman s knot tying device as recited in claim 1 wherein saidslot means in said cylinder include a pair of slots symmetricallydisposed with reference to a diametral plane of said cylinder, thebottoms of said slots lying in a diametral plane at right angles to thefirst diametral plane.

3. A fishermans knot tying device as recited in claim 2 wherein adiametral hole is provided in said cylinder in said first mentioneddiametral plane for receiving a line loop, and

a hole is provided in said carriage, said hole being alignable with theaforesaid hole for receiving and anchoring said loop during a knot tyingoperation.

4. A fishermans knot tying device as recited in claim 3 wherein the loopreceiving hole in the carriage has anchor slot means at its ends foreffecting the temporary anchoring of said loop on said carriage.

S. A fisherman s knot tying device as recited in claim 1 wherein theends of said cylinder are provided with shallow diametral loose line endguide grooves.

6. A fisherman s knot tying device as recited in claim 1 wherein saidbearing means comprises a semi-cylindrical bore in which said cylinderfreely rotates, and posts provided on said carriage and overlying saidcylinder so as to confine the same in said bore.

1. A fisherman''s knot tying device comprising: a line twisting cylinderhaving line receiving slot means formed lengthwise in the exteriorsurface thereof; carriage plate means providing a centralsemi-cylindrical means for rotatably mounting said cylinder thereinwhile exposing said slot means to access and leaving free axial spacesat opposite ends of said cylinder in which stranDs of said lineoccupying said slot means may be twisted together when said cylinder isrotated; and line anchoring means on said carriage means.
 2. Afisherman''s knot tying device as recited in claim 1 wherein said slotmeans in said cylinder include a pair of slots symmetrically disposedwith reference to a diametral plane of said cylinder, the bottoms ofsaid slots lying in a diametral plane at right angles to the firstdiametral plane.
 3. A fisherman''s knot tying device as recited in claim2 wherein a diametral hole is provided in said cylinder in said firstmentioned diametral plane for receiving a line loop, and a hole isprovided in said carriage, said hole being alignable with the aforesaidhole for receiving and anchoring said loop during a knot tyingoperation.
 4. A fisherman'' s knot tying device as recited in claim 3wherein the loop receiving hole in the carriage has anchor slot means atits ends for effecting the temporary anchoring of said loop on saidcarriage.
 5. A fisherman''s knot tying device as recited in claim 1wherein the ends of said cylinder are provided with shallow diametralloose line end guide grooves.
 6. A fisherman''s knot tying device asrecited in claim 1 wherein said bearing means comprises asemi-cylindrical bore in which said cylinder freely rotates, and postsprovided on said carriage and overlying said cylinder so as to confinethe same in said bore.